MORDEN, Man. – Jake Hoeppner clicks open the big, brown briefcase he carries, containing inches of documents, transcripts and articles.
The farmer from Snowflake, Man., lugs it around as a testament to how he has tackled what he calls “irregularities” in how the Canadian Wheat Board buys grain.
Hoeppner says he doesn’t want to destroy the board. He just wants it to treat farmers equally. It’s a fight he plans to continue if he is re-elected in Portage-Lisgar on June 2.
Legal and political battles with the board pushed Manitoba’s lone Reform MP into the headlines during his first term in office. He even got heaved out of the House of Commons once, for calling the solicitor general a liar.
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Hoeppner says he was often confused and frustrated by the parliamentary system.
“I didn’t think it would be so tough to change things, when you have things in black and white, the facts and figures,” he said.
Hoeppner, 61, got involved in the Reform party after observing government corruption during visits to his ancestral country of Ukraine and drawing parallels to problems he saw in Canada.
He places great importance on family values, and locking up the “criminal element,” which he says lurks even in the serene towns of central Manitoba.
He says he wants to help clean up the system, uncover the cover-ups, dislodge the bureaucrats who control the national agenda. Most of all, Hoeppner wants politicians to stay out of the judicial system.
“If that happens, then you can do something about the corruption and the irregularities that are going on in government,” he said.
Squeezed out Tory
In 1993, Hoeppner pulled the traditionally Tory riding out from under former agriculture minister Charlie Mayer. Mayer placed third, and by a sizable margin Hoeppner can still recite from memory.
This year, the boundaries have changed, taking in uncharted territory around the small city of Portage la Prairie.
Heather Mack, a 21-year-old student, is carrying the Liberal banner in the riding, while Glen Hallick, 32, says he’s fighting an uphill battle for the NDP.
But Hoeppner says he faces stiff competition from a convivial Portage politician who counts Mayer, Clayton Manness and Harry Enns on his list of mentors.
Brian Pallister, 42, was in charge of government services in the provincial cabinet before resigning to run federally for the Progressive Conservatives.
“You could call that courageous or crazy, depending on your perspective,” Pallister said.
Like Hoeppner, Pallister wants the government to be more accountable. But he sees it happening through a strong, national opposition.
Pallister says people in Manitoba’s Tory heartland had good reason to use their votes to protest against the Mulroney government during the last election.
But he said the Conservatives have rebuilt, becoming the “party of the farmer” again.
Roads, tax cuts and commonsense legislation for endangered species and guns are some issues Pallister talks about when he knocks on farmers’ doors.
Some farmers bring up the wheat board debate, because they identify him with brother Jim, a well-known advocate for changes in grain marketing.
“I love my brother dearly and we have some spirited conversations on these topics,” Pallister sighs.
Brian tries to steer clear of the divisive debate, focusing instead on changes the wheat board could make to foster value-added industry in Manitoba.
Processing is crucial for the riding he calls “the garden of the country,” where many farmers have moved into potatoes, vegetables and special crops.
